Needless to say, I definitely lol’d. Yeah you read that right: “forcing her.”

Highly inappropriate Facebook, highly inappropriate.

In related news, who remembers this incredible Conan O’Brien skit from like 14 years ago? It was the only thing I thought when I was presented with the captcha.

When I say I really like beer, I really like beer. I don’t just like beer a little bit, I love everything about the taste and I vastly respect art of brewing. I was raised on beer from a very young age when I first stole my father’s can of Foster’s off the kitchen table at the age of 3. During the same incident I snatched our neighbour’s cigarette, but luckily only one of these vices stuck. I think it’s because one of these things was bitter, cold and delicious, whereas the other was hot, burned and made me hack and convulse wildly.

Beer to me is the perfect drink. It brings people of all most walks of life together and acts as an incredible social lubricant. I believe over the years I have grown to appreciate beers from across the globe and spectrum. While I sincerely love a brilliant craft beer above anything, I would never turn down a chilled glass originating from any of the larger breweries either. I’m a beer lover, not a beer snob.

A large challenge since I moved to Toronto has been finding some unique beers. I’ll be the first to admit that my current LCBO has a very poor beer selection and I have yet to find a fabled “Beer Store” I’ve been told so much about. I’ll admit that I was absolutely spoiled in Vancouver; I was around the corner from one of the largest liquor stores and I was a block away from the best private liquor store I hath ever lay mine eyes upon: Viti Cold Beer and Wine.

So far I have encountered some very good Ontario beers! Creemore Springs has an excellent “UrBock,” Steam Whistle Brewing has a very solid and refreshing pilsner, and Mill St Brewery has some incredibly delicious crafts such as their Tankhouse Ale and Organic Lager, although I hear their Vanilla Porter is unbelievable. I’m still on the lookout for other great breweries though, in particular I’m dying for a hopped-up IPA, so please let me know of any of your favourites!

All of this beer talk really got me thinking about my favourite beers of all time. Without further adieu, here are my top five beers of all time that I recommend you track down and jump on. They are delicious and your world will not be the same after you locate them.

5. Phillips Brewery – Draught Dodger – Victoria, BC

To me, this beer is the Great White Whale of the beer kingdom. On a quest for sustenance during one of my early poker games, this beer appeared without any warning bearing an extremely artsy colourful label and brilliant pun for a title. I was only ever to pick up a couple cases of Draught Dodger before it just vanished off the shelves never to be found again. Draught Dodger was one of the smoothest ale’s I have ever poured down my throat. A maple cream ale using some of the richest maple syrup I have ever consumed (in beer form). If I recall the bottle said it used a special crystallized maple syrup, but I’ll never remember for sure. As far as I’m concerned the bottle could have said it used crystallized nectar from Olympus. It pains me to put this on my list knowing I’ll never try it again; heck I only know I didn’t imagine it because Beer Advocate has it listed with the only trace of the label on the internet. It’s a damn shame, I’d pour this stuff all over waffles if given the opportunity. The only cream ale I’ve ever fallen in love with. For a strong honorable mention from Phillips Brewery instead let me recommend their Longboat Chocolate Porter. It’s dessert in a glass with it’s incredibly strong chocolate notes; HIGHLY recommend.

4. Lost Coast Brewery – Tangerine Wheat Ale – Humboldt County, CA

When I was backpacking through Europe I fell in love with Orangina. You may know Orangina as the incredibly delicious carbonated orange flavoured mineral water that comes in rounded, stylized bottles and filled with pulp. It is incredibly refreshing and oh-so flavourful. Lost Coast Brewery’s Tangerine Wheat Ale is the Orangina of the beer world. It is the perfect summer beer! It’s incredibly thirst-quenching and perfect for lounging around your backyard in the hot sun. The tangerine flavour is so strong you may almost forget that this wheat beer is actually beer. Make sure you track this winner down come July and August.

3. Sacramento Brewing Company – India Pale Ale – Sacramento, CA

This is actually a little heartbreaking for me. Sacramento Brewing Company actually closed their doors this past fall. Sac Brewing had some incredibly sophisticated flavours and brews, however in my opinion, none so refined as their India Pale Ale.

I am a huge American/Northwest IPA fan and it is without question, my favourite style of beer. I have taken in plunge in many, many IPA’s. Typically they are extremely hoppy (I’ve been told over-hopped by some, is that even possible?!?) and this hoppiness gives a very deep crispiness or bitter flavour. I find them extremely refreshing. Sacramento Brewing Company had my favourite IPA to date with some fantastic labelling to match.

It will be missed; R.I.P. Sac Brewing.

2. Dogfish Head Brewery – Raison D’Etre – Milton, DE

I do love me a good pun and Dogfish Head definitely delivers. Raison D’Etre is a really complex brew that gets it delicious flavours and mahogany colour from a combination of beet sugar and green raisins! Get it? Raison D’Etre has raisins in it! Honestly a very delicious beer, however I have only found it available a handful of times. Maybe it’s just that popular and delicious!

I can’t really compare Raison D’Etre to many other beers. It reminds me of a plummier version of Vancouver Island Brewery’s Hermannator (a strong 10% ice bock that drinks like a milkshake). Raison D’Etre may require another tasting to stay on my top 5 list but each time I’ve had it thus far it definitely has earned it’s spot on this list. Check it out and let me know what you think below.

1. Granville Island Brewing – Lions Winter Ale – Vancouver, BC

My number 1 was an incredibly easy choice. Granville Island Brewing’s Lions Winter Ale is a damn near perfect beer. I can drink hundreds of these and it just seems to get better every year. GIB’s Winter Ale is known for it’s incredibly delicious vanilla flavour. Refreshing, crisp and only available between October and March. I love this beer so much it’s one of the few things outside friends and family I miss from Vancouver.

My first foray into Lions Winter Ale was not very good; truth be told my friends and all all thought the batch was “off.” However, I came back the next year, and gave it another chance. I’ve never looked back, this beer has had me purchase case after case and pitcher after pitcher, every years since.

Winter Ale is a perfect beer in my opinion. A beer that’s darker in colour, but not too heavy. It continuously calls me back for more with it’s very flavourful sweetness. It’s great for a weekend afternoon or dessert! If you ever find yourself in Vancouver during the mild winter months, do yourself a favour and pick some up.

There you have it, my favourite five beers! The list might change, but it’s been pretty consistent the last 12 months. What are you favourite beers?

The glass is half full via Exploding Dog

So amongst my new years resolution to change around my life and eradicate cynicism from my day-to-day life, I’ve decided to blog about my own life again. WHOA! I know, right? I’ve had an on-again-off-again, sometimes tumultuous relationship with blogging and it has been probably five, maybe six years since I last truly blogged. However, I do believe that a little more openness about my personal life will aid my in my anti-cynicism lifestyle. This is not to say I’m overtly cynical, in fact I really believe I’m not very cynical to start with, but I have my moments and it’s time to stop.

Last month Men’s Health had a great article on cynicism called “Why Men Fail.” I highly recommend reading it as it did nothing but reinforce that my current goals were on target.

I believe I’m a tad out of the box. I’ve lived a strange life and I’ve never believed I was incapable of doing many things. I’ve usually been fairly extroverted, confident and really creative; I’ve made it a mission to never tell myself “no.” Or at least, I thought I had! Save my great network of amazing friends and family, over the past year – maybe year and a half, maybe even a slow buildup over several years – I found myself in an incredible rut and in a very bad place. I found myself unmotivated, negative, self-defeating (much different than self-depreciating) and just hating where I was at; I think I had finally discovered the terrible cycle of cynicism.

It was really easy to complain. It was really easy to give-up. It was really easy to tell myself “no.”
The worst part was consciously knowing that it wasn’t ‘me.’

It took a while to decide what to do and how to get out of the rut. I quit my job, I applied to go back to school, I moved half-way across the country; I shook up my routine. It’s helped. It’s helped alot! I already have a really refreshing outtake on life again, I sort of feel like the person who I grew up with.

Anyways I’ll probably continue to link-dump here but expect a lot of personal updates too!

Almost two years ago (to the day) it was announced Warner Bros and Leonardo DiCaprio were teaming up to bring a live adaptation of Akira to the big screen. After two years of virtually no news (two or three updates max if I recall), it seems that the Hughes Brothers (Book of Eli) are in talks to direct the project!

This makes my little nerd heart swell with joy. Akira was one of the movies that warped my fragile little mind when I was much younger. Probably what, 18 years ago or so? If you haven’t ever watched Akira, I suggest you do so immediately. It is totally badass.

If you have seen Akira, there is an incredible live action short taking place 10 years after the events of Akira; check it out over at Nerdwithswag.

….And somehow, I had a feeling, things were going to turn out all right.

So if you know me, you know how big of a Lost fan I am. Today marks the return of the glorious show and the show’s homestretch. I am so excited for tonight I can’t express myself properly, and even more excited for my life ot have just a little less meaning in 16 weeks! *Single salty tear*

To celebrate, here are some fantastic Lost finds thanks to my good friend the internet.

1. SPOILER ALERT! Esquire transcribed EVERYTHING one of the best television characters of all time said in season 5: Mr. John Locke. If you want to pour hours of your life away or just have a man crush on John Locke go here.

2. If you don’t actually know who John Locke or Sayid Jarrah (from the video above) actually are maybe you should catch up with the NYTimes Lost Timeline or watch the incredible video below that recaps everything you need to know in 8 minutes:

3. Earlier this week io9 posted a really interesting chart showing all of the character’s off-island encounters. Definitely fascinating seeing all of these “coincidences” laid out graphically. Check it out here.

4.

While nothing else should need to be said, the above piece is called “Jack Is A Wolf Howling At The Moon, And The Moon Is The Face Of Locke” by artist Misha (from the mind of Paul Scheer). Remember the Masters of the Universe show I wrote about last week at the incredibly awesome Gallery 1988? Well they also had a Lost showcase because they are that damned cool! You can check out alot of that work here and here. Unfortunately for all of us, the best t-shirt in existence was only for purchase by physically walking into the gallery:

Damnation.

5. Finally move over Wizard Rock, the band Oceanic 6 has you covered with awesome lyrics and Lost based songs.

You can check out their youtube page here for more.

I have my theories on what happens this season, how about you? If you do, this contest might be for you!

1. Thanks go to to Topless Robot this week for sharing the greatest improv show of all time. Edmonton based improv crew Rapid Fire Theatre recently put on a Hallowe’en performance as classic DC comic characters. Not just dressed as the characters mind you, but completely in character. Basically it’s the greatest/nerdiest improv performance of all time. Check out all 7 parts on the Tyrant Pictures youtube account here.

I don’t know about you, but it totally reminds me of the fantastic “Legend of the Superheroes” variety show from the 70’s. Below is a clip from the show of “Ghetto Man” roasting the Superfriends.

Time for a “Legends of the Superheroes” revival? I think so. Thoughts?

2. What do you get when you cross Tom Selleck, a waterfall and a sandwich? COMEDY GOLD!
Check out the link above for the brilliant new tumblr blog Selleck Waterfall Sandwich. Half way down the page you also get treated to the official Selleck Waterfall Sandwich soundtrack.

3. Pocket monsters or ancient japanese demons? You decide:

Gorgeous! I’ve included the lower res versions above, however I highly recommend checking out the incredible high-res version at the artist’s (nojo?) site here. Almost makes you want to get a Lickitung tattoo! No? Just me? All right then, moving on…

Until next time internetz!

You can check out more of Remi Gallard’s brilliant pranks on his Youtube channel here.

1) Speaking of Ninja Turtles, I recently started to check out a bunch of local Toronto blogs. How does this relate to Turtles? Well Carol Zara of Digitally Blonde fame recently posted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles snuggie!!!! I’m totally ordering four and having a turtle snuggie party in the near future! You in? I call dibs on Donatello.

On a side note, I highly recommend checking out Digitally Blonde. I can’t figure out if she’s real and every nerd’s fantasy (read: mine!) or if she’s like that terrible Al Pacino movie S1M0ne, where Al Pacino creates an actress who becomes a star overnight… but she’s computer generated!!!! I mean we’ve all seen Avatar, who knows what’s real and fake anymore amirite???!?!?! My guess is she’s probably real.

That said, any pretty Brazilian girl who talks about comics, dresses up as cartoon characters and dances around in her underwear gets my full infatuation attention! You can stalk check out Digitally Blonde here.

2) If you’re not snugged out yet, Street Fighter IV also has a snuggie. You too can now kick some ass in comfort.

3) Oh!!! I almost forgot! Cartoonist Matt Bors recently had a brilliant commentary about global warming: “What if the Avengers treated Galactus like global warming?” Seriously, so good! Click here for parts 1, 2 and 3.
(via Comics Alliance)

4) By now I’m sure most of you have heard that Gallery 1988 (the best gallery in the universe), recently held a show completely dedicated to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Now I’m really jealous that I couldn’t make it down for the show but lucky for me the great people of the internets have come through and posted tons of the content online. You can check out alot of the artwork here, here, here, here and most importantly here. Also here.

So many of my favourite artists from today came together for this show. One of those favourites is Vancouver artist Camilla d’Errico. Camilla’s piece for the show can be seen here, however what’s even cooler and slightly related is that Gallery 1988 held a show back in 2008 called “Toys.” During this show Camilla displayed one of my favourite pieces of all time called “The Sorceress” which depicted The Sorceress from He-Man lore.

I love this piece, I mean it’s even my phone wallpaper. The colours are so vivid and there is so much character in those eyes. Anyways, I recently bought a copy for my new place and it arrived late last week! I am in my happy place. Check out Camilla’s site here and her store here.

The good news is that I’m not dead! But my life looks a lot differently now than it did several months ago. I was accepted to York University and moved across the country. I have left my beloved Vancouver and West Coast to live in Toronto. After a hectic month or two I made it here in one piece.

The vibe in this city is definitely different, but it’s definitely not a bad thing. This adventure looks really promising and already I’ve thrown myself into a lot of “new” circumstances. For example, I’m no longer living in a downtown core and I’m living in a house with other people; first roommates/housemates evar!

The move has been good so far though, I’ve even reconnected with old friends in the city and have spent a lot of time with family.

I’m not going to lie, I have no idea how often I’ll be posting these days as a lot of my time is now spent doing homework and staring at girls on campus. That said I’m going to try my damnedest to get back into posting semi-regularly and maybe even finish these six unfinished posts.

I have promised myself to go to at least one con to assert my geek cred now that I’m living in Toronto. Go team!

Anyone else have a shakeup this new year?

1) You had me at Decepticon with pom-poms. The above video marks everything that is right with the internet. You know what everyone? I think we’re going to be okay, we’re going to be okay. *Cue California by Phantom Planet*

2) While we’re talking about parodies of anime, Grand Theft Auto has taken anime parodies to the next level…. and it is GLORIOUS. I originally saw the trailer on Topless Robot two weeks and it is too good not to share:

Princess Robot Bubblegum!!!!!!!!!!!

Potentially NSFW if your work frowns upon skimpily clad anime women, tentacles or brilliant cliches.

I’ve actually seen all of episode one and it is quite well done. For a cartoon within a video game I have to give mad props. Princess Robot Bubblegum reminded me very much of the shortlived Adult Swim series Perfect Hair Forever. Perfect Hair Forever was an incredible series that Adult Swim surprisingly has thus far not released on DVD. Each episode looked at a different anime series and parodied every possible cliche. Montage of it’s shortlived greatness can be found here.

3) Know what’s not great? Getting a terrible tattoo! Hitting the rounds this week is one of the greatest tattoos I have ever seen. A brave geek got a tattoo of Street Fighter’s shoryuken controller command up his entire forearm. Too bad he got it wrong!

4) If you loved the above, also check out Geeky Tattoos. These people have thus far been much braver and more awesome than I am, however my eventual Battle Cat tattoo will blow these out of the waters.

5) In unrelated news, Alan Moore is going to pen a libretto for the Gorillaz!!!!! This is so unexpected and so out of left field that I am thrilled. I can’t even fathom how awesome this is going to be. I will sit here waiting with open ears and an open mind, because anything could happen…. we’re talking about the man responsible for THIS KOOL-AID MAN COMIC afterall.

Oh apparently he’s written some other stuff too.

1) Unbelievably rad video above is “The Golden Age of Video” by Ricardo Autobahn. It’s uber catchy and quite well done. Some great samples of some epic lines through film and television; double points for using “Lisa needs braces” and “I want to go to there.” You can check out more of Ricardo Autobahn’s work here. Thanks to my friend JP, for the heads up via Twitter.

2) I’ve been in a very Star-Warsy mood lately. I can’t really figure out why, but I think it probably has to do with seeing drunken Ewoks completely ruin a Halloween episode of the Today’s Show two weeks ago. If you haven’t seen the clip yet, you can watch the glorious, fuzzy shenanigans here. Once you get past Al Roker dressed up as Han Solo everything gets better…. particularly when one of the Ewok goes to town and starts humping his leg.

3) In crazy movie news this week, some Mathematicians claimed to have found a formula that is the secret to a hit movie sequel. Mad science! Just think, if this had been discovered earlier, we may have been spared the travesties that were Spiderman 3 and X-Men 3…… Two travesties that continued to go on and make over 1.3 billion dollars combined, worldwide. Something tells me that their formula involves tights.

4) Speaking of X-Men 3, the screenwriter of X2 had some ideas for X3 that never came to fruition. Super frustrating. I’ll never forget being so terribly disappointed at X3! I had some unforgettable times on that set, but that movie has still left a terrible taste in my mouth. Maybe that’s Brett Ratner’s mutant power! The ability to corrupt an incredible franchise and leave a bad taste in every geek’s mouth.

5) In related comic book movie news, IGN is reporting that Rachel McAdams is in talks to play the Black Cat in Spiderman 4! I’m excited that Black Cat is about to make an appearance in Spiderman. I love the Black Cat, a long standing childhood crush; however I also don’t believe that any human is designed to handle that much woman. She’s feisty, a thrillseeker and looks faker than anything you would see on any stripclub stage. B

BONUS ROUND: Fun embarassing story time, featuring me!

Several Halloweens ago, I hit the town and went clubhopping with a friend. Dressing up as AC Slater, no matter how unflattering the costume, will always open doors that otherwise may not be available to you. By the time Zeus and I hit up our third club, I spotted her. We had already past by the Chun-Li’s, the Cammy’s and the April O’Neils, but on the dance floor was a black leather, fur-trimmed, white haired beauty. Yes, Felicia Hardy (AKA the Black Cat) was in full on party mode in the middle of the bar. Next thing I knew, an intoxicated AC Slater was dancing with the Black Cat; a strange fanfic story (and fantasy come true) if there ever was one. The bar came to a close and Black Cat and I ended up on an impromptu date to a late night diner. I’m not sure where it was headed, but I think I failed to seal any deals that night somewhere between when she told me she was a nymphomaniac and the Moons Over My Hammy. No dreams were fulfilled that night and I’ve hated myself just a little bit ever since.

However hope is not lost! The good news is this: once Spiderman 4 comes out and Blackcat is on the screen, Halloween will be full of Blackcat costumes everywhere!!!!!!! Dreams never die people. Dreams. Never. Die.